The answer is yes! In fact, some companies are socially responsible, and we don’t even know it. After reading Patricia Tumbocon’s blog, I realized that one of the big-shot companies in the food industry, Ben & Jerry’s, fits into this category. Ben & Jerry’s claim to fame is their ice cream, but they are also a B Corporation.
B Corporations are companies that meet the “rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency”. They are attempting to “create higher quality jobs and improve the quality of life in [their] communities. And, as the movement grows, it has become an increasingly powerful agent of change.” 1
Some of the great works done by these companies are:
- Caring Daily program – almost half of the cost of goods sold goes towards investing in small-scale suppliers
- Outsourcing key ingredients from community organizations
- The company’s lowest paid hourly workers make almost 50% above the living wage
- No animal testing
I think that this, in it’s entirety, is fantastic. It’s great that “B Corporations” exist. They are working hard to turn more businesses into positive businesses with ethical and constructive practices; are the way of the future. Being able to give companies a title such as “B Company”, should encourage people to purchase from these companies, and should hopefully encourage more businesses to try and become one of these. I was also very pleased to hear that Ben and Jerry’s is a B Corporation, because it means that a lot of people, whether they are aware of it or not, are supporting a socially responsible company. I hope that as time passes, more and more people learn about the socially responsible practices of B Corporations, and that more companies strive to share similar beliefs.
Sources:
1 http://www.bcorporation.net/what-are-b-corps/why-b-corps-matter
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